Adjusting device for printing press ductor rolls



H. FISCHER 3,

ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR PRINTING PRESS DUCTQR ROLLS April 19, 1966 Filed Aug. 25, 1964 NUENTOK ll gm v ESE/16E By gee, mambo/y United States Patent 3,246,601 ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR PRINTING PRESS DUCTOR ROLLS Hermann Fischer, Augsburg, Germany, assignor to Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nurnherg A.G., Augsburg, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Aug. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 391,869 Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 19, 1960, M 46,313 4 Claims. (Cl. 101-350) This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Serial No. 126,269, filed July 24, 1961, now abandoned.

This invention relates to adjusting and controlling the travel or throw of lifting or vibrating rolls (such as inking or moistening rolls in printing presses and the like) moving or oscillating between two other associated rolls in the press and, more particularly, to devices and constructions for adjusting such movement while the press is in operation by means of stationary parts which are independent of oscillating or vibrating or lifting movement of the roll being adjusted.

As will be understood, printing presses and the like machinery may include a rotating roll member which is continuously or repeatedly lifted or moved into and out of mating contact with the surface of another rotating roll and/or back and forth between mating engagements with the surfaces of two opposed rolls-as, for example, for intermittently transferring a film of ink or aqueous vintain liquid from the surface of one roll to another. in such an arrangement, particularly in the transfer of a film of ink or fountain liquid from a supply roll to a distributing roll intermittently by means of a lifting or vibrating roll, adjustment of the travel of the lifting roll may be desired with respect to the distributing roll in order satisfactorily to meter or apply thereto the desired quantity or film thickness of the ink or other fluid being transferred. Similarly, particularly when the lifting roll Y "vcrcd by spring force sharply against the surface of t r-ly roll, it may interrupt or break the continuity it in liquid films thereover, especially at high speeds, so that delivery or metering or transfer of the ink or ountain liquid may become irregular or undesirably non- Ui'lliOil'tl.

if it is attempted to provide mechanism for adjusting the limits of movement of such a lifting or vibrating roll in either direction by means of adjusting or controlling mechanism mounted on or connected with the moving or oscillating parts of the lifting or vibrating roll or the drives or mountings therefor, difiiculty may be experienced in effecting the desired adjustment while the printing press or other machinery is operating and without stopping the intermittent or vibrating action of the roll for the purpose of adjusting the limits of travel or throw thereof. Yet, particularly with a metering adjustment, if the adjustment cannot be made while the machinery is actually operating, it may be difficult to obtain the desired fineness of adjustment without a number of repeated trials and without repeatedly starting and stopping the printing press.

Even with resilient or adjustable stops or mountings, one of which may be stationary but the other of which may be moving with the lifting roll or its actuating mechanism, dilficulty may be experienced in achieving the desired ease of adjustment (and/or any necessary changes of adjustment) while the machine is operating if some or all of the cooperating stop or limiting mechanisms are mounted on moving parts of the lifting roll structure and/ or if positive adjustments of a positively limiting and non-resilient arrangement cannot be made, As will be understood, the foregoing disadvantages may be particularly apparent with regard to minute adjustments which 3,246,601 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 ice may be desired during the continuous operation of the press to accommodate changing conditions therein without interrupting the press run and/or, indeed, under circumstances where the actual conditions of the transfer of inking or other films actually change or become constant only after the machinery has been operating for some time.

According to this invention, however, there is provided an arrangement for the adjustment and limiting and control of the movement or travel of such vibrating or lifting rollers and for selectively adjusting and limiting the movement thereof in either direction at either end of the travel thereof with stationary adjustable stop members mounted on a stationary part of the machinery in a manner to be substantially independent of the vibrating or lifting or oscillating intermittent movement of the roll, and with which adjustment is readily achieved while the machine is operating and without interfering with the mounting or actuating mechanism which provides the lifting or vibrating movements of the lifting roll; and, as a further feature of this invention, a construction is provided whereby the cooperating parts for adjusting or limiting vibrating or oscillating movement of the roll are arranged separately from and substantially independently of the bearings or rotatable supports for the roll itself whereby adjustment and operation of the device in accordance herewith is independent of, and positioned so as not to interfere with, removal or replacement of the rotating roll itself as may be desired from time to time.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention will now be described in more detail, and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing, and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a structure embodying and for practicing this invention applied to a lifting or vibrating moistening roll of a printing press;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed fragmentary view, partly in section, along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view, partly in section, along the line III-III of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views thereof, a construction embodying and for practicing this invention is indicated in FIG. 1 as applied to the oscillating or lifting moistening apparatus of a printing press. That is, a liquid supply roll 10 rotates in a liquid reservoir 11 to provide, in known manner, a film of liquid from reservoir 11 around the surface of roll 10. Space; above supply roll 10 is a distributing roll 12 to the surface of which it is desired to transfer a metered quantity of liquid film from supply roll 10 by means of rotating lifting or vibrating roll 15, which moves vertically back and forth between supply roll 1t and distributing roll 12 to pick up a film of liquid from supply roll 10 and transfer such fiim (or a metered quantity thereof) to the surface of distributing roll 12.

As will be apparent from FIG. 1, such intermittent or cyclic lifting or oscillating of vibrating roll 15 is accomplished by having roll 15 axially mounted between lever 17, pivoted at 18, and raised and lowered under the operation of the disclosed cam and spring arrangement.

That is, lever 17 is actually L-shaped with a depending portion 20. A driven cam 50 rotates and effects movement of a cam follower 51 which rotates lever 21 back and forth around pivot 22 mounted on supporting arm 23. A bolt or rod 24 is slidably engaged with both levers 20 and 21, and carries thereon a spring 19. In this manner, when lever 21 is moved to the right in the drawing by the action of cam 50, spring 19 will resiliently force lever 20 to the right, hence raising vibrating roll 15 through hell crank lever 17, whereas the reverse action occurs whenever the extended eccentric portion of cam 50 permits the relaxation of cam follower 51.

Since the motion of cam 50 and the dimensions of the eccentric portion thereof are constant, the oscillating movement of cam follower 51 will always have the same extent or throw, although it is desired to limit both the upward and downward distance or throw of vibrating roll 15. The foregoing is achieved by transmitting the lifting force through spring 19 resiliently so as to be able to limit both the upward and downward extents of movement of roll 15 to the desired relationship with rolls and 12 notwithstanding the constant oscillating extent of cam follower 51 and lever 21.

As will be understood, the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 depicts the mounting and other arrangements at but one end of roll 15 at one side of the printing press and a similar structure is to be understood as provided at the opposite side of the press for supporting and operating the opposite end of roll 15.

At each opposite side of the printing press, and adjacent opposite ends of roll 15, is provided a stop mounting block 25, affixed to a stationary portion 26 of the machine or the frame thereof, and including a cavity or indentation 27 within which moves a stub shaft 30 affixed to the end of lever 17 and preferably substantially coaxial with roll 15.

Two stop members 31 and 32 are arranged for sliding movement within block 25 and, preferably, at an angle "with espect to each other as indicated in, for example, 3. That is, stop members 31 and 32 are slidably carried, respectively, in channels 33 and 34, of block 25, and may be adjustably moved therealong by the opera tion of threaded bolts 35 and 36 upon turning or adjustment of knobs 37 and 38, respectively, with, preferably, the provision of locking nuts 39 and 40 for maintaining bolts and 36 in any particular axial position in which they are set.

Stop members 31 and 32 are provided, at the ends thereof opposite to threaded bolts 35 and 36, with beveled abut ment faces and 46, positioned so as to limit the upward and downward movement of stub shaft 30 and, consequently, roll 15, with the corresponding surfaces of stub aha. being preferably provided with flattened portions, shown, to contact beveled surfaces 45 and 46 of stop members 31 and 32 as stub shaft 30 oscillates therebetween.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the beveled surfaces 45 and 46 of slidable and adjustable stop members 31 and 32 and the angular disposition thereof in block 25 all cooperate with stub shaft 30 in a manner such that the upper and/or lower limits of travel of stub shaft 30 are readily and continuously adjustable merely by extending or retracting stop members 31 and 32, and adjusting the position of surfaces 45 and 46 thereof, with respect to block 25 under the action of adjusting knobs 37 and 38. In this manner, as will be understood, either the upper or the lower limit of movement of stub shaft 30 (or both) is continuously adjustable during continued movement of the shaft, and without stopping the printing press, to achieve the desired positioning or adjustment or change in adjustment of the surface of roll 15 with respect to the surface of either supply roll 10 or distributing roll 12.

Also, as more particularly indicated in FIG. 2, lever 17 is preferably provided with an offset boss 47 for mounting and supporting a bearing 48 carrying the end of roll 15, with boss 47 readily openable (in known manner) for removal or replacement of roll 15 without altering or interfering with the adjustable stop device arrangements in accordance herewith.

Accordingly, there is provided by this invention an arrangement adjusting the travel and limits of travel of a reciprocating and vibrating roll in apparatus of the character described, and of so adjusting the travel during actual operation of the reciprocating movement of the roll yet with the adjusting and stop mechanism being stationary and mounted on a readily accessible stationary portion of the device. Thus, there is no necessity for stopping the machine, for example a printing press, in order to make minor or frequent adjustments of the metering motion of a moistening or inking roll. Furthermore, the entire roll itself may be removed from its bushings without interference with the adjustable arrangement in accordance herewith.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An arrangement of the character described in printing presses and the like for adjusting and controlling the travel of a vibrating roll having intermittent reciprocating movement with respect to another roll, which comprises in combination mounting and drive means for effecting said reciprocating movement, resilient means for cushioning said mounting and drive means, a stationary stop member at each end of the line of travel of said reciprocating movement for limiting said reciprocating movement in each direction thereof, means for mounting said stop members independently of said mounting and drive means and of said reciprocating movement, means for independently and selectively adjusting the positioning of each of said stop members for separately limiting said travel of said reciprocating movement in each direction thereof, and a stop-engaging stud at the axis of said vibrating roll and adjacent said stop members for engaging sequentially each of said stop members to limit said travel of said roll.

2. An arrangement of the character described in printing presses and the like for adjusting and controlling the travel of a vibrating roll having intermittent reciprocating movement with respect to another roll, which comprises in combination mounting and drive means for effecting said reciprocating movement, a stationary stop member at each end of the line of travel of said reciprocating movement for limiting said reciprocating movement, means for mounting said stop members independently of said mounting and drive means and of said reciprocating movements, resilient means between said drive means and said vibrating roll for cushioning the limiting effect of said stop members, means for adjusting the positioning of said stop members with respect to said travel of said movement, said adjusting means including a threaded bolt mounted at an angle to said reciprocating movement and a beveled surface on each of said step members cooperating with said angularly disposed bolt whereby axial movement of said bolt extends and retracts said beveled surface along said line of travel, and a stop-engaging stud mounted at the axis of said vibrating roll and adjacent each of said stop members for engagement therewith to limit said travel of said roll.

3. An arrangement of the character described in printing presses and the like for adjusting and controlling the travel of a vibrating roll having intermittent reciprocating movement toward and away from another roll, which comprises in combination mounting and drive means for effecting reciprocating movement, a stop member for each end of the line of travel of said reciprocating movement for limiting said travel of said reciprocating movement, resilient means between said drive means and said vibrating roll for cushioning the movement limiting effect of said stop members, means for mounting said stop member independently of said mounting and drive means and on a stationary part of said printing press, means for adjusting the positioning of said stop member for limiting said travel of said reciprocating movement, a stopengaging stud mounted at the axis of said vibrating roll and adjacent said stop member for engagement therewith to limit said travel of said roll, and releasable means for disengaging said roll from said mounting and drive means therefor separately from and independently of said stop-engaging stud.

4. An arrangement of the character described in printing presses and the like for adjusting and controlling the travel of the axis of a vibrating roll having intermittent reciprocating movement toward and away from the axis of another roll, which comprises in combination mounting and drive means for effecting said reciprocating movement, a stop member for each end of the travel of said reciprocating movement for limiting said travel in each direction thereof, resilient means between said drive means and said vibrating roll for cushioning the movement limiting effect of said stop member, means for mounting said stop members independently of said mounting and drive means and on a stationary part of said printing press, means for independently and selectively adjusting the positioning of each of said stop members for separately limiting said travel of said reciprocating movement independently in each direction thereof, said adjusting means including a threaded bolt mounted at an angle to the line of travel of said reciprocating movement and a beveled surface on said stop member cooperating with said angularly disposed bolt whereby axial movement of said bolt extends and retracts said beveled surface along said line of travel, a stop-engaging stud at the axis of said vibrating roll and adjacent said stop members for engaging sequentially each of said stop members to limit said travel of said roll as said stud engages said stop members, and releasable means for disengaging said roll from said mounting and drive means therefor separately from and independently of said stop-engaging stud.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 643,941 2/1900 Brooks et al. 101-148 1,183,623 5/1916 Blaine 101-350 2,622,521 12/1952 Larsen 101148 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner. EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Examiner. 

1. AN ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED IN PRINTING PRESSES AND THE LIKE FOR ADJUSTING AND CONTROLLING THE TRAVEL OF A VIBRATING ROLL HAVING INTERMITTENT RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ANOTHER ROLL, WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION MOUNTING AND DRIVE MEANS FOR EFFECTING SAID RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT, RESILIENT MEANS FOR CUSHIONING SAID MOUNTING AND DRIVE MEANS, A STATIONARY STOP MEMBER AT EACH END OF THE LINE OF TRAVEL OF SAID RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT FOR LIMITING SAID RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT IN EACH DIRECTION THEREOF, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID STOP MEMBERS INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID MOUNTING AND DRIVE MEANS AND OF SAID RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT, MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY AND SELECTIVELY ADJUSTING THE POSTIONING OF EACH OF SAID STOP MEMBERS FOR SEPARATELY LIMITING SAID TRAVEL OF SAID RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT IN EACH DIRECTION THEREOF, AND A STOP-ENGAGING STUD AT THE AXIS OF SAID VIBRATING ROLL AND ADJACENT SAID STOP MEMBERS FOR ENGAGING SEQUENTIALLY EACH OF SAID STOP MEMBERS TO LIMIT SAID TRAVEL OF SAID ROLL. 